ARC's 2013 Population Estimates

Population estimates for the major jurisdictions in the 10-county Atlanta region is one of ARC's signature products. This presents ARC's 2013 population estimates which show the region added 40,100 new residents over the past year.

4.
Population Estimates: Recent History
Source: ARC Population Estimates Program
Population Growth
Similar to the table on the previous slide, this shows how each county and the City of Atlanta has grown over the
past 40 years. As you can see, each county “took off” at different points of time. Generally speaking, though, the
more rural counties of Cherokee, Douglas and Henry experienced their booms last decade, while the more urban
counties closer to the core had their booms during the 1990s.
-10,000
-5,000
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000 Cherokee
Clayton
Cobb
DeKalb
Douglas
Fayette
Fulton
Gwinnett
Henry
Rockdale
CityofAtlanta
1970 to 1980 1980 to 1990 1990 to 2000 2000 to 2010 2012 to 2013

5.
Population Estimates: Recent History
Source: ARC Population Estimates Program
Population Growth
Similar to the table on the previous slide, this shows how each county and the City of Atlanta has grown over the
past 40 years. As you can see, each county “took off” at different points of time. Generally speaking, though, the
more rural counties of Cherokee, Douglas and Henry experienced their booms last decade, while the more urban
counties closer to the core had their booms during the 1990s.
-10,000
-5,000
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000 Cherokee
Clayton
Cobb
DeKalb
Douglas
Fayette
Fulton
Gwinnett
Henry
Rockdale
CityofAtlanta
1970 to 1980 1980 to 1990 1990 to 2000 2000 to 2010 2012 to 2013
Cherokee, Douglas and Henry had their
growth spurts during the 2000s.

6.
Population Estimates: Recent History
Source: ARC Population Estimates Program
Population Growth
Similar to the table on the previous slide, this shows how each county and the City of Atlanta has grown over the
past 40 years. As you can see, each county “took off” at different points of time. Generally speaking, though, the
more rural counties of Cherokee, Douglas and Henry experienced their booms last decade, while the more urban
counties closer to the core had their booms during the 1990s.
-10,000
-5,000
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000 Cherokee
Clayton
Cobb
DeKalb
Douglas
Fayette
Fulton
Gwinnett
Henry
Rockdale
CityofAtlanta
1970 to 1980 1980 to 1990 1990 to 2000 2000 to 2010 2012 to 2013
DeKalb and Fulton had their largest
growth spurts during the 1990s.

7.
Population Estimates: 10-County
Atlanta Region
Source: ARC Population Estimates Program
What Comes Around…
The annual growth from 2012 to 2013 almost exactly matches the average annual growth during the 1970s.
In fact, growth over the past 40 years has been quite symmetrical. As the chart shows, the 1990s saw the
greatest growth, while growth during the 1980s was similar to the growth during the 2000s.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
10-County Atlanta Region
1970 to 1980 1980 to 1990 1990 to 2000 2000 to 2010 2012 to 2013

9.
Building Permits: 10-County Atlanta
Region
Source: State of the Cities Data System
Building Permits Are An Indicator Of Population Growth
Given that residential building permit activity is still at all-time lows, it is not surprising that population growth is sluggish. Permits
are on the rise, but again, just rising slowly. There were almost 11,000 residential units permitted in 2012, 4,500 more than in 2011.
But, considering the region averaged around 35,000 new residential units each year since 1980, permit activity is still way down.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Building Permits: 1980 - 2012

10.
Building Permits: 10-County Atlanta
Region
Source: State of the Cities Data System
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Building Permits: 1980 - 2012
30-Year Average
Building Permits Are An Indicator Of Population Growth
Given that residential building permit activity is still at all-time lows, it is not surprising that population growth is sluggish. Permits
are on the rise, but again, just rising slowly. There were almost 11,000 residential units permitted in 2012, 4,500 more than in 2011.
But, considering the region averaged around 35,000 new residential units each year since 1980, permit activity is still way down.

11.
Building Permits: 10-County Atlanta
Region
Source: State of the Cities Data System
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Building Permits: 1980 - 2012
30-Year Average
2012:
31% of
30-year
average
Building Permits Are An Indicator Of Population Growth
Given that residential building permit activity is still at all-time lows, it is not surprising that population growth is sluggish. Permits
are on the rise, but again, just rising slowly. There were almost 11,000 residential units permitted in 2012, 4,500 more than in 2011.
But, considering the region averaged around 35,000 new residential units each year since 1980, permit activity is still way down.